US20130094051A1 - Image forming system, image forming apparatus, and non-transitory computer readable medium - Google Patents
Image forming system, image forming apparatus, and non-transitory computer readable medium Download PDFInfo
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- US20130094051A1 US20130094051A1 US13/440,688 US201213440688A US2013094051A1 US 20130094051 A1 US20130094051 A1 US 20130094051A1 US 201213440688 A US201213440688 A US 201213440688A US 2013094051 A1 US2013094051 A1 US 2013094051A1
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- image forming
- information
- transmission
- user
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F21/00—Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
- G06F21/30—Authentication, i.e. establishing the identity or authorisation of security principals
- G06F21/31—User authentication
- G06F21/34—User authentication involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/12—Digital output to print unit, e.g. line printer, chain printer
- G06F3/1201—Dedicated interfaces to print systems
- G06F3/1202—Dedicated interfaces to print systems specifically adapted to achieve a particular effect
- G06F3/1222—Increasing security of the print job
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/12—Digital output to print unit, e.g. line printer, chain printer
- G06F3/1201—Dedicated interfaces to print systems
- G06F3/1223—Dedicated interfaces to print systems specifically adapted to use a particular technique
- G06F3/1237—Print job management
- G06F3/1238—Secure printing, e.g. user identification, user rights for device usage, unallowed content, blanking portions or fields of a page, releasing held jobs
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/12—Digital output to print unit, e.g. line printer, chain printer
- G06F3/1201—Dedicated interfaces to print systems
- G06F3/1278—Dedicated interfaces to print systems specifically adapted to adopt a particular infrastructure
- G06F3/1285—Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/00127—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
- H04N1/00204—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server
- H04N1/00209—Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
- H04N1/00222—Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax details of image data generation or reproduction, e.g. scan-to-email or network printing
- H04N1/00228—Image push arrangements, e.g. from an image reading device to a specific network destination
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/00127—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
- H04N1/00204—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server
- H04N1/00209—Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
- H04N1/00222—Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax details of image data generation or reproduction, e.g. scan-to-email or network printing
- H04N1/00233—Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax details of image data generation or reproduction, e.g. scan-to-email or network printing details of image data reproduction, e.g. network printing or remote image display
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/44—Secrecy systems
- H04N1/4406—Restricting access, e.g. according to user identity
- H04N1/4413—Restricting access, e.g. according to user identity involving the use of passwords, ID codes or the like, e.g. PIN
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/44—Secrecy systems
- H04N1/4406—Restricting access, e.g. according to user identity
- H04N1/4426—Restricting access, e.g. according to user identity involving separate means, e.g. a server, a magnetic card
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/44—Secrecy systems
- H04N1/4406—Restricting access, e.g. according to user identity
- H04N1/4433—Restricting access, e.g. according to user identity to an apparatus, part of an apparatus or an apparatus function
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, and to details thereof
- H04N2201/0077—Types of the still picture apparatus
- H04N2201/0082—Image hardcopy reproducer
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an image forming system, an image forming apparatus, and a non-transitory computer readable medium.
- an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a transmission apparatus, a reception section that is provided in the image forming apparatus and receives a designation of the transmission apparatus, a first transmission section that is provided in the image forming apparatus and transmits apparatus information indicating the own apparatus to a transmission apparatus designated in the reception section, a first storage unit that is provided in the transmission apparatus and stores the apparatus information transmitted from the first transmission section, a second transmission section that is provided in the transmission apparatus and transmits image data to an image forming apparatus indicated by the apparatus information stored in the first storage section, and an image forming unit that is provided in the image forming apparatus and forms an image corresponding to the image data transmitted from the second transmission section.
- FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system according to a first exemplary embodiment
- FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the client apparatus
- FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus
- FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the authentication information
- FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the spooler list
- FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming system according to the first exemplary embodiment
- FIG. 7 is a sequence chart illustrating a setting operation according to the first exemplary embodiment
- FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting screen according to the first exemplary embodiment
- FIG. 9 is a sequence chart illustrating a printing operation according to the first exemplary embodiment.
- FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system according to a second exemplary embodiment
- FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the authentication server apparatus
- FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user information
- FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming system according to the second exemplary embodiment
- FIG. 14 is a sequence chart illustrating a setting operation of the second exemplary embodiment
- FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting screen according to the second exemplary embodiment.
- FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating user information to which spooler information is added
- FIG. 17 is a sequence chart illustrating a printing operation according to the second exemplary embodiment
- FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a storage unit of the client apparatus according to a modified example 2;
- FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user information according to the modified example 2.
- FIG. 20 is a sequence chart illustrating a changing operation of spooler information according to a modified example 3.
- FIG. 21 is a sequence chart illustrating a changing operation of the spooler information according to the modified example 3.
- FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of image forming system 1 according to a first exemplary embodiment.
- the image forming system 1 includes a client apparatus 20 , and image forming apparatuses 30 A, 30 B and 30 C.
- the client apparatus 20 and the image forming apparatuses 30 A, 30 B and 30 C are connected to each other via a communication line 2 .
- the apparatuses are collectively referred to as “an image forming apparatus 30 ” or “image forming apparatuses 30 ”.
- FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the client apparatus 20 .
- the client apparatus 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 , a memory 22 , a communication unit 23 , a storage unit 24 , an operation unit 25 , and a display 26 .
- the CPU 21 controls the respective units of the client apparatus 20 by executing a program stored in the memory 22 .
- the communication unit 23 is a communication interface connected to the communication line 2 .
- the client apparatus 20 communicates with the image forming apparatus 30 using the communication unit 23 .
- the storage unit 24 is a storage device such as a hard disk.
- the storage unit 24 stores a printer driver 40 .
- the printer driver 40 is a program which has a function of controlling the image forming apparatuses 30 .
- the operation unit 25 includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse.
- the operation unit 25 is used to operate the client apparatus 20 .
- the display 26 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device.
- FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 30 .
- the image forming apparatus 30 includes a controller 31 , a communication unit 32 , a storage unit 33 , a UI (User Interface) unit 34 , an image forming unit 35 , and a card reading unit 36 .
- the controller 31 controls the respective units of the image forming apparatus 30 .
- the controller 31 includes, for example, a CPU and a memory.
- the CPU realizes functions of the controller 31 by executing a program stored in the memory.
- the communication unit 32 is a communication interface connected to the communication line 2 .
- the image forming apparatus 30 communicates with the client apparatus 20 or the other image forming apparatuses 30 using the communication unit 32 .
- the storage unit 33 is a storage device such as a hard disk or a flash memory.
- the storage unit 33 stores authentication information 41 and a spooler list 42 .
- the storage unit 33 stores image data transmitted from the client apparatus 20 .
- the UI unit 34 includes, for example, a touch screen and an operation button.
- the UI unit 34 is used to operate the image forming apparatus 30 .
- the image forming unit 35 is, for example, an electronic photography type printer.
- the image forming unit 35 forms (prints) an image corresponding to image data on a medium such as paper.
- the card reading unit 36 reads information stored on an IC (Integrated Circuit) card, in a noncontact manner.
- the IC card is given to a user in advance in order to perform user authentication.
- description is made by adding the letters “A”, “B”, and “C” to the respective reference numerals.
- FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the authentication information 41 .
- the authentication information 41 describes a set of a user ID and a password.
- the user ID is information for identifying a user.
- the password is information for confirming that a user is the person himself/herself.
- the password is set by a user.
- the authentication information 41 shown in FIG. 4 describes a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234”.
- FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the spooler list 42 stored in the storage unit 33 A of the image forming apparatus 30 A.
- the spooler list 42 describes spooler information indicating other image forming apparatuses 30 which are storage destinations of image data.
- As the spooler information for example, an IP (Internet Protocol) address or an identification number assigned to the image forming apparatus 30 is used.
- the spooler list 42 shown in FIG. 5 describes the spooler information “spooler B” and the spooler information “spooler C”.
- the spooler information “spooler B” and “spooler C” respectively indicate the image forming apparatuses 30 B and 30 C.
- FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming system 1 .
- the client apparatus 20 functions as a transmission apparatus.
- a reception section 301 is realized by the UI unit 34 .
- a first transmission section 302 is realized by, for example, the CPU executing a program in the controller 31 .
- a second transmission section 201 is realized by the CPU 21 executing a program.
- the reception section 301 receives a designation of the client apparatus 20 .
- the first transmission section 302 transmits spooler information indicating the own apparatus to the client apparatus 20 designated in the reception section 301 .
- the spooler information is an example of the apparatus information indicating the image forming apparatus 30 .
- the storage unit 24 stores the spooler information transmitted from the first transmission section 302 .
- the storage unit 24 functions as a first storage unit.
- the second transmission section 201 transmits image data to the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by the spooler information stored in the storage unit 24 .
- the image forming unit 35 forms an image corresponding to the image data transmitted from the second transmission section 201 .
- FIG. 7 is a sequence chart illustrating a setting operation according to the first exemplary embodiment.
- a user selects a desired image forming apparatus 30 from the image forming apparatuses 30 A, 30 B and 30 C, and moves to the image forming apparatus 30 in order to use the selected image forming apparatus 30 .
- the user moves to the image forming apparatus 30 which is near to the user's seat and is the most convenient for use.
- An authentication screen is displayed on the UI unit 34 of the image forming apparatus 30 , and if authentication is not performed, an operation of the image forming apparatus 30 is not accepted.
- the user inputs a user ID by touching the IC card of the user on the card reading unit 36 A.
- the IC card stores the user ID “user 001”.
- the user inputs the password using the UI unit 34 A.
- the password “1234” is input by the user.
- the image forming apparatus 30 A performs user authentication using the input user ID and password (step S 11 ). Specifically, the card reading unit 36 A reads the user ID “user 001” from the IC card. The UI unit 34 A receives an input of the password “1234”. The controller 31 A determines whether or not a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” is included in the authentication information 41 which is stored in the storage unit 33 A. When a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” is not included in the authentication information 41 , the controller 31 A displays a message indicating the user authentication fails on the UI unit 34 A, and finishes this process.
- the controller 31 A displays a message indicating the user authentication is successful on the UI unit 34 A.
- FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting screen 51 .
- the setting screen 51 is provided with a text box 52 and a setting button 53 .
- the text box 52 receives an input of the communication address of the client apparatus 20 .
- the communication address for example, an IP address is used.
- the setting button 53 receives an instruction for setting the image forming apparatus 30 A as a transmission destination of the image data.
- the user performs an operation for designating the client apparatus 20 using the UI unit 34 A. Specifically, the user inputs the communication address of the client apparatus 20 to the text box 52 using the UT unit 34 A. Next, the user presses the setting button 53 using the UI unit 34 A.
- the image forming apparatus 30 A transmits setting information including the spooler information of the own apparatus to the client apparatus 20 (step S 13 ).
- the controller 31 A creates setting information including the spooler information assigned to the image forming apparatus 30 A in advance.
- the spooler information “spooler A” is assigned to the image forming apparatus 30 A.
- the controller 31 A controls the communication unit 32 A so as to transmit the created setting information to the communication address input in the text box 52 .
- the setting information is transmitted using a protocol such as, for example, an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or an SMB (Server Message Block).
- FTP File Transfer Protocol
- SMB Server Message Block
- the client apparatus 20 When receiving the setting information from the image forming apparatus 30 A, the client apparatus 20 sets a transmission destination of image data on the basis of the received setting information (step S 14 ). Specifically, the CPU 21 extracts the spooler information “spooler A” from the received setting information, and stores the extracted spooler information in the storage unit 24 . Thereby, the image forming apparatus 30 A is set as a transmission destination of image data.
- FIG. 9 is a sequence chart illustrating a printing operation according to the first exemplary embodiment.
- the user operates the client apparatus 20 so as to perform a printing instruction. Specifically, the user designates image data and instructs printing using the operation unit 25 . Here, it is assumed that the user designates image data D 1 which is instructed to be printed.
- the client apparatus 20 transmits the image data D 1 to the image forming apparatus 30 set as the transmission destination of image data by the printer driver 40 (step S 21 ).
- the user ID “user 001” is set in the printer driver 40 in advance.
- the CPU 21 adds attribute information including the user ID to the image data D 1 .
- the CPU 21 controls the communication unit 23 so as to transmit the image data D 1 to the image forming apparatus 30 A indicated by the spooler information “spooler A” stored in the storage unit 24 .
- the image forming apparatus 30 A When receiving the image data D 1 from the client apparatus 20 , the image forming apparatus 30 A stores the image data D 1 in the storage unit 33 A. Thereby, the image data D 1 is stored in the image forming apparatus 30 A (step S 22 ). After performing the printing instruction, the user moves to the image forming apparatus 30 A. The user inputs the user ID “user 001” by touching the IC card of the user on the card reading unit 36 A. In addition, the user inputs the password using the UI unit 34 A. The image forming apparatus 30 A performs user authentication in the same manner as step S 11 described above (step S 23 ).
- the image forming apparatus 30 A acquires image data corresponding to the user ID “user 001” and performs a printing process based on the acquired image data (step 324 ). Specifically, if the image data to which the attribute information including the user ID “user 001” is added is stored in the storage unit 33 A, the controller 31 A reads the image data from the storage unit 33 A.
- the controller 31 A specifies other image forming apparatuses 30 which are storage destinations of the image data on the basis of the spooler list 42 stored in the storage unit 33 A.
- the spooler list 42 shown in FIG. 5 describes the spooler information “spooler B” and the spooler information “spooler C”.
- the controller 31 A specifies the image forming apparatus 30 B indicated by the spooler information “spooler B” and the image forming apparatus 30 C indicated by the spooler information “spooler C”.
- the controller 31 A controls the communication unit 32 A so as to request the image data to which the attribute information including the user ID “user 001” is added at the specified image forming apparatuses 30 B and 300 .
- the image forming apparatuses 30 B and 300 When the image data requested by the image forming apparatus 30 A is stored in the storage units 33 B and 330 , the image forming apparatuses 30 B and 300 read the image data from the storage units 33 B and 33 C and transmit the image data to the image forming apparatus 30 A. When the image data is transmitted from the image forming apparatuses 30 B and 30 C, the image forming apparatus 30 A receives the image data.
- the storage unit 33 A stores the image data D 1 .
- the attribute information including the user ID “user 001” is added to the image data D 1 .
- the controller 31 A reads the image data D 1 from the storage unit 33 A.
- the controller 31 A supplies the image data D 1 to the image forming unit 35 A so as to form an image corresponding to the image data D 1 .
- the image forming unit 35 A forms the image corresponding to the image data D 1 on a medium under the control of the controller 31 A.
- the image forming apparatus 30 is set as a transmission destination of image data.
- the image forming apparatus 30 set as a transmission destination of image data is selected by the user. Therefore, if the user sets the image forming apparatus 30 which is normally used as a transmission destination of image data, the image data is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 30 which is normally used. In this case, when a printing process is performed, image data is not acquired from the other image forming apparatuses 30 . Thus, a frequency where image data is transmitted between the image forming apparatuses 30 is lower than a case where the image forming apparatus 30 which is not normally used by the user is set as a transmission destination of image data.
- the printer driver 40 itself is not transmitted from the image forming apparatus 30 to the client apparatus 20 , but only the spooler information is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 30 to the client apparatus 20 . Therefore, according to the first exemplary embodiment, a process of setting a transmission destination of image data is easily performed.
- the image forming system 1 has a structure where image data is stored in any one of the image forming apparatuses 30 A, 30 B and 30 C, and an image corresponding to the image data may be formed using any image forming apparatus 30 .
- the printer drivers 40 installed in the client apparatuses 20 are appropriately updated when limitations are updated.
- a user is required to search the client apparatuses 20 for the printer driver 40 .
- An administrator of the image forming system 1 stores a common printer driver 40 , for example, in a single server apparatus, and notifies the user of a storage location of the server apparatus, which is convenient for both the user and the administrator. For this reason, in the first exemplary embodiment, the printer driver 40 itself is not transmitted but the spooler information is transmitted.
- FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an image forming system 1 according to a second exemplary embodiment.
- the image forming system 1 includes an authentication server apparatus 10 , a client apparatus 20 , and image forming apparatuses 30 A, 30 B and 30 C.
- the authentication server apparatus 10 , the client apparatus 20 , and the image forming apparatuses 30 A, 30 B and 30 C are connected to each other via a communication line 2 .
- an image forming apparatus 30 /image forming apparatuses 30 when it is not necessary to differentiate the image forming apparatuses 30 A, 30 B and 30 C from each other are collectively referred to as “an image forming apparatus 30 /image forming apparatuses 30 ”.
- Configurations of the client apparatus 20 and the image forming apparatus 30 according to the second exemplary embodiment are the same as the configurations described in the first exemplary embodiment, and thus description thereof will be omitted.
- FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the authentication server apparatus 10 .
- the authentication server apparatus 10 includes a CPU 11 , a memory 12 , a communication unit 13 , a storage unit 14 , an operation unit 15 , and a display 16 .
- the CPU 11 controls the respective units of the authentication server apparatus 10 by executing a program stored in the memory 12 .
- the communication unit 13 is a communication interface connected to the communication line 2 .
- the authentication server apparatus 10 communicates with the client apparatus 20 or the image forming apparatuses 30 using the communication unit 13 .
- the storage unit 14 is a storage device such as a hard disk.
- the storage unit 14 stores user information 43 .
- the operation unit 15 includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse. The operation unit 15 is used to operate the authentication server apparatus 10 .
- the display 16 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device.
- FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user information 43 .
- the user information 43 describes a set of a user ID and a password in the same manner as the above-described authentication information 41 .
- the user information 43 describes spooler information so as to be correlated with each user ID.
- the spooler information is not described when the user information 43 is created, and is added when a setting operation is performed.
- FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming system 1 according to the second exemplary embodiment.
- the client apparatus 20 functions as a transmission apparatus
- the authentication server apparatus 10 functions as a management apparatus.
- a reception section 303 is realized by the card reading unit 36 .
- a first transmission section 304 is realized by, for example, the CPU executing a program in the controller 31 .
- An acquisition section 202 and a second transmission section 203 are realized by the CPU 21 executing a program.
- the reception section 303 receives an input of the user ID.
- the user ID is an example of user information for identifying a user.
- the first transmission section 304 transmits the input user ID and spooler information indicating the own apparatus to the authentication server apparatus 10 .
- the spooler information is an example of the apparatus information indicating the image forming apparatus 30 .
- the storage unit 14 correlates the user ID and the spooler information transmitted from the first transmission section 304 with each other so as to be stored in the user information 43 .
- the acquisition section 202 acquires spooler information which is correlated with a preset user ID and is stored in the storage unit 14 .
- the second transmission section 203 transmits image data to the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by the spooler information acquired by the acquisition section 202 .
- the image forming unit 35 forms an image corresponding to the image data transmitted from the second transmission section 203 .
- FIG. 14 is a sequence chart illustrating a setting operation according to the second exemplary embodiment.
- a user selects a desired image forming apparatus 30 from the image forming apparatuses 30 A, 30 B and 300 , and moves to the image forming apparatus 30 in order to use the selected image forming apparatus 30 .
- the user moves to the image forming apparatus 30 which is near to the user's seat and is the most convenient for use.
- An authentication screen is displayed on the UI unit 34 of the image forming apparatus 30 , and if authentication is not performed, an operation of the image forming apparatus 30 is not accepted.
- the user inputs a user ID by touching the IC card of the user on the card reading unit 36 A.
- the IC card stores the user ID “user 001”.
- the user inputs the password using the UI unit 34 A.
- the password “1234” is input by the user.
- the image forming apparatus 30 A requests the authentication server apparatus 10 to perform user authentication on the basis of the input user ID and password (step S 31 ). Specifically, the controller 31 A controls the communication unit 32 A so as to transmit the input user ID “user 001” and password “1234” to the authentication server apparatus 10 .
- the authentication server apparatus 10 performs the user authentication requested by the image forming apparatus 30 A (step S 32 ), and makes a response regarding whether or not the user authentication is successful (step S 33 ). Specifically, the CPU 11 determines whether or not a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” received from the image forming apparatus 30 A is included in the user information 43 which is stored in the storage unit 14 . When a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” is not included in the user information 43 , the CPU 11 controls the communication unit 13 so as to transmit response information indicating that the user authentication fails to the image forming apparatus 30 A.
- a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” is included in the user information 43 shown in FIG. 12 .
- the CPU 11 controls the communication unit 13 so as to transmit response information indicating that the user authentication is successful to the image forming apparatus 30 A.
- the image forming apparatus 30 A notifies the user of the authentication result on the basis of the response from the authentication server apparatus 10 (step S 34 ). Specifically, when there is a response indicating that the user authentication fails from the authentication server apparatus 10 , the controller 31 A displays a message indicating the user authentication fails on the UI unit 34 A, and finishes this process. In this case, the user cannot use the image forming apparatus 30 A. In contrast, when there is a response indicating that the user authentication is successful from the authentication server apparatus 10 , the controller 31 A displays a message indicating the user authentication is successful on the UI unit 34 R.
- FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting screen 55 .
- the setting screen 55 is provided with a setting button 56 .
- the setting button 56 receives an instruction for setting the image forming apparatus 30 A as a transmission destination of the image data.
- the user presses the setting button 56 using the UI unit 34 A.
- the image forming apparatus 30 A transmits setting information including the input user ID and the spooler information of the own apparatus to the authentication server apparatus 10 (step S 36 ).
- the controller 31 A creates setting information including the input user ID “user 001” which is input via the card reading unit 36 A and the spooler information assigned to the image forming apparatus 30 A in advance.
- the spooler information “spooler A” is assigned to the image forming apparatus 30 A.
- the controller 31 A controls the communication unit 32 A so as to transmit the created setting information to the authentication server apparatus 10 .
- the setting information is transmitted using a protocol such as, for example, an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or an SMB (Server Message Block).
- FTP File Transfer Protocol
- SMB Server Message Block
- FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the user information 43 to which the spooler information is added through this setting.
- the CPU 11 extracts the spooler information “spooler A” from the received setting information, and adds the extracted spooler information to the user information 43 stored in the storage unit 14 .
- the CPU 11 correlates the user ID “user 001” included in the setting information with the added spooler information “spooler A” in the user information 43 .
- the user ID “user 001” and the spooler information “spooler A” are correlated with each other and are stored.
- the image forming apparatus 30 A is set as a transmission destination of image data corresponding to the user ID “user 001”.
- FIG. 17 is a sequence chart illustrating a printing operation according to the second exemplary embodiment.
- the user inputs the user ID and the password using the operation unit 25 of the client apparatus 20 .
- the client apparatus 20 requests the authentication server apparatus 10 to perform user authentication on the basis of the input user ID and password (step S 41 ).
- the CPU 21 controls the communication unit 23 so as to transmit the input user ID “user 001” and password “1234” to the authentication server apparatus 10 .
- the authentication server apparatus 10 performs the user authentication requested by the client apparatus 20 (step S 42 ), and makes a response regarding whether or not the user authentication is successful (step S 43 ).
- the client apparatus 20 notifies the user of the authentication result on the basis of the response from the authentication server apparatus 10 (step S 44 ). Specifically, when there is a response indicating that the user authentication fails from the authentication server apparatus 10 , the CPU 21 displays a message indicating the user authentication fails on the display 26 . In this case, the user cannot perform a printing instruction. In contrast, when there is a response indicating that the user authentication is successful from the authentication server apparatus 10 , the CPU 21 displays a message indicating the user authentication is successful on the display 26 .
- the client apparatus 20 acquires the spooler information corresponding to the user ID set in the printer driver 40 in advance from the authentication server apparatus 10 .
- the CPU 21 controls the communication unit 23 so as to request the spooler information corresponding to the user ID “user 001” at the authentication server apparatus 10 (step S 45 ).
- the authentication server apparatus 10 reads the requested spooler information from the storage unit 14 and transmits the spooler information to the client apparatus 20 (step S 46 ).
- the CPU 11 extracts the spooler information “spooler A” correlated with the user ID “user 001” from the user information 43 shown in FIG. 16 .
- the CPU 11 controls the communication unit 13 so as to transmit the extracted spooler information to the client apparatus 20 .
- the client apparatus 20 receives the spooler information “spooler A” from the authentication server apparatus 10 .
- the user operates the client apparatus 20 so as to perform a printing instruction. Specifically, the user designates image data and instructs printing using the operation unit 25 . Here, it is assumed that the user designates image data D 1 which is instructed to be printed.
- the client apparatus 20 transmits the image data D 1 to the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by the spooler information acquired from the authentication server apparatus (step S 47 ).
- the CPU 21 controls the communication unit 23 so as to transmit the image data D 1 to the image forming apparatus 30 A indicated by the received spooler information “spooler A”.
- the image forming apparatus 30 A stores the image data D 1 in the storage unit 33 A. Thereby, the image data D 1 is stored in the image forming apparatus 30 A (step S 48 ).
- the user moves to the image forming apparatus 30 A.
- the user inputs the user ID “user 001” by touching the IC card of the user on the card reading unit 36 A.
- the user inputs the password using the UI unit 34 A.
- the image forming apparatus 30 A requests the authentication server apparatus 10 to perform user authentication on the basis of the user ID and the password in the same manner as step S 31 described above (step S 49 ).
- the authentication server apparatus 10 in the same manner as steps S 32 and S 33 described above, performs the user authentication requested by the image forming apparatus 30 (step S 50 ), and makes a response regarding whether or not the user authentication is successful (step S 51 ).
- the image forming apparatus 30 A notifies the user of the authentication result on the basis of the response from the authentication server apparatus 10 (step S 52 ). If the user authentication is successful, the image forming apparatus 30 A, in the same manner as step S 24 described above, acquires image data corresponding to the user ID “user 001” and performs a printing process based on the acquired image data (step S 53 ).
- the image forming apparatus 30 is set as a transmission destination of image data.
- a frequency where image data is transmitted between the image forming apparatuses 30 is lower than a case where the image forming apparatus 30 which is not normally used by the user is set as a transmission destination of image data.
- a process of setting a transmission destination of image data is easily performed.
- the invention is not limited to the above-described first exemplary embodiment or second exemplary embodiment, and may be modified as follows. In addition, the following modified examples may be combined with each other.
- the client apparatus 20 may preserve image data D 1 designated by the user, and may transmit the image data D 1 after a transmission destination of the image data is set.
- the CPU 21 determines whether or not spooler information is stored in the storage unit 24 . If the spooler information is not stored in the storage unit 24 , the CPU 21 stores the image data D 1 designated by the user in the storage unit 24 . Thereafter, through the process in step S 14 , the spooler information is stored in the storage unit 24 . When the spooler information is stored in the storage unit 24 , the CPU 21 reads the image data D 1 from the storage unit 24 , and transmits the image data D 1 to the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by the spooler information, in the same manner as step S 21 described above.
- the image data is transmitted when the spooler information is stored. At this time, it is not necessary for the user to operate the client apparatus 20 again in order to perform a printing instruction after setting a transmission destination of image data by operating the image forming apparatus 30 .
- the operation according to the modified example 1 may be applied to, for example, a case where image data cannot be transmitted to the client apparatus 20 since a failure occurs in the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by spooler information stored in the storage unit 24 , or the communication line 2 between the client apparatus 20 and the image forming apparatus 30 .
- a transmission destination of image data may be set in plural.
- the user operates the plural image forming apparatuses 30 and sets a primary spooler and a secondary spooler.
- the primary spooler refers to a storage destination of image data having the highest priority.
- the secondary spooler refers to a storage destination of image data having the second highest priority.
- the user performs an operation for instructing any one of the setting a setting screen 51 A used to set a primary spooler and a setting screen 51 B used to set a secondary spooler to be displayed, by the use of the UI unit 34 of the image forming apparatus 30 .
- the controller 31 displays the setting screen 51 A on the UI unit 34 .
- the setting screen 51 A is provided with a setting button 53 A which receives an instruction for setting the own apparatus as a primary spooler, in addition to the text box 52 as shown in FIG. 8 .
- the setting button 53 A receives a designation of the priority “1” for the own apparatus.
- the user inputs a communication address of the client apparatus 20 in the text box 52 and presses the setting button 53 A using the UI unit 34 .
- the controller 31 adds the priority “1” to the spooler information indicating the own apparatus, and performs transmission of the setting information in step S 13 .
- the controller 31 displays the setting screen 51 B on the UI unit 34 .
- the setting screen 51 B is provided with a setting button 53 B which receives an instruction for setting the own apparatus as a secondary spooler, in addition to the text box 52 as shown in FIG. 8 .
- the setting button 53 B receives a designation of the priority “2” for the own apparatus.
- the user inputs a communication address of the client apparatus 20 in the text box 52 and presses the setting button 53 B using the UI unit 34 .
- the controller 31 adds the priority “2” to the spooler information indicating the own apparatus, and performs transmission of the setting information in step S 13 .
- the spooler information to which the priority “1” is added is referred to as “primary spooler information”
- the spooler information to which the priority “2” is added is referred to as “secondary spooler information”.
- the primary spooler information and the secondary spooler information are stored in the storage unit 24 of the client apparatus 20 as shown in FIG. 18 .
- the user operates the image forming apparatus 30 A so as to set a primary spooler, and then operates the image forming apparatus 30 C so as to set a secondary spooler.
- the spooler information “spooler A” indicating the image forming apparatus 30 A is stored as the primary spooler information
- the spooler information “spooler C” indicating the image forming apparatus 30 C is stored as the secondary spooler information.
- the client apparatus 20 transmits image data to the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by the primary spooler information stored in the storage unit 24 or the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by the secondary spooler information.
- the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by the primary spooler information is used prior to the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by the secondary spooler information.
- the CPU 21 first transmits image data to the image forming apparatus 30 A indicated by the primary spooler information “spooler A”.
- the image data cannot be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 30 A.
- the CPU 21 controls the communication unit 23 so as to transmit the image data to the image forming apparatus 30 C indicated by the secondary spooler information “spooler C”.
- the image data is stored in the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by the secondary spooler information.
- the client apparatus 20 transmits image data to the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by spooler information which is available and has the highest priority added among the image forming apparatuses 30 indicated by the spooler information stored in the storage unit 24 .
- the term “available” refers to capable of storing image data in the image forming apparatus 30 . Whether or not the image forming apparatus 30 is available is determined depending on, for example, whether or not an echo response is returned by an image forming apparatus 30 after an echo request is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 30 . When the image forming apparatus 30 and the communication line 2 are normally operated, an echo response is returned by the image forming apparatus 30 .
- an echo response is not returned by the image forming apparatus 30 . If the echo response is not returned within a designated period of time, the client apparatus 20 determines that the image forming apparatus 30 is in unavailable circumstances.
- a transmission destination of image data may be set in plural.
- user information 43 A is stored in the storage unit 14 of the authentication server apparatus 10 .
- FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user information 43 A according to the modified example 2.
- the user operates the plural image forming apparatuses 30 so as to set a primary spooler and a secondary spooler.
- the primary spooler information and the secondary spooler information are added to the user information 43 A.
- the client apparatus 20 acquires the primary spooler information and secondary spooler information from the authentication server apparatus 10 in steps S 45 and S 46 described above.
- the client apparatus 20 transmits image data to the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by spooler information which is available and has the highest priority added among the image forming apparatuses 30 indicated by the acquired spooler information. Thereby, even if the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by the primary spooler information cannot be used, the image data is stored in the image forming apparatus 30 indicated by the secondary spooler information.
- FIG. 20 is a sequence chart illustrating a changing operation of spooler information according to the modified example 3.
- the image forming apparatus 30 records the previous communication address to which changed information is transmitted in step S 13 described above (step S 61 ).
- the controller 31 stores the communication address of the client apparatus 20 input in the text box 52 of the setting screen 51 in the storage unit 33 .
- the storage unit functions as a second storage unit.
- the image forming apparatus 30 sends a notification of the change in the spooler information to all the recorded communication addresses (step S 62 ).
- the controller 31 controls the communication unit 32 so as to transmit spooler information before being changed and spooler information after being changed to all the communication addresses stored in the storage unit 33 .
- the controller 31 functions as a third transmission unit.
- the client apparatus 20 changes spooler information stored in the storage unit 24 in response to the notification from the image forming apparatus 30 (step S 63 ). Specifically, when the spooler information before being changed and the spooler information after being changed are received from the image forming apparatus 30 , the CPU 21 determines whether or not the received spooler information before being changed is stored in the storage unit 24 . If the spooler information before being changed is stored in the storage unit 24 , the CPU 21 rewrites the spooler information before being changed, stored in the storage unit 24 , to the received spooler information after being changed. In other words, in the modified example 3, the CPU 21 functions as a changing unit. Thereby, the spooler information stored in the client apparatus 20 is changed according to the change in the spooler information of the image forming apparatus 30 .
- FIG. 21 is a sequence chart illustrating a changing operation of spooler information according to the modified example 3.
- the image forming apparatus 30 notifies the authentication server apparatus 10 of the changed spooler information (step S 71 ).
- the controller 31 controls the communication unit 32 so as to transmit spooler information before being changed and spooler information after being changed to the authentication server apparatus 10 .
- the controller 31 functions as a third transmission unit.
- the authentication server apparatus 10 changes user information 43 stored in the storage unit 14 in response to the notification from the image forming apparatus 30 (step S 72 ). Specifically, when the spooler information before being changed and the spooler information after being changed are received from the image forming apparatus 30 , the CPU 11 determines whether or not the received spooler information before being changed is included in the user information 43 . If the spooler information before being changed is included in the user information 43 , the CPU 11 rewrites the spooler information before being changed, included in the user information 43 , to the received spooler information after being changed. In other words, in the modified example 3, the CPU functions as a changing unit. Thereby, the spooler information stored in the authentication server apparatus 10 is changed according to the change in the spooler information of the image forming apparatus 30 .
- spooler information may be stored in the storage unit 24 through an operation of the user.
- the user inputs a mail address assigned to the client apparatus 20 in the text box 52 of the setting screen 51 .
- the image forming apparatus 30 has a mail function.
- the image forming apparatus 30 transmits the setting information to the client apparatus 20 by electronic mail in step S 13 described above.
- the user operates the client apparatus 20 so as to store spooler information included in the setting information in the storage unit 24 on the basis of the mail received from the image forming apparatus 30 .
- the image forming apparatus 30 may display the setting screen 55 when the number of times to be used by the user reaches a threshold value.
- the number of times to be used includes the number of authentications or the number of image formations.
- the controller 31 counts the number of authentications for performing user authentication using a user ID for each user ID input by the user.
- the controller 31 A increases the number of authentications corresponding to the user ID “user 001” by 1.
- the controller 31 does not count the number of authentications with regard to a user ID correlated with spooler information indicating the own apparatus in the user information 43 stored in the authentication server apparatus 10 .
- the controller 31 stores the counted number of authentications in the storage unit 33 .
- a threshold value for example, three
- the controller 31 displays the setting screen 55 on the UI unit 34 even if the user does not perform an operation for instructing the setting screen 55 to be displayed.
- the authentication server apparatus 10 may collectively perform processes for setting a transmission destination of image data in step S 37 at a predefined timing (for example, once every night). In addition, when plural pieces of setting information including the same user ID are received from the image forming apparatus 30 up to a predefined timing, the authentication server apparatus 10 performs the process in step S 37 on the basis of the finally received setting information.
- the temporary setting button may be displayed on the UI unit 34 of the image forming apparatus 30 .
- the temporary setting button receives an instruction for setting the own apparatus as a storage destination of image data only for a predefined period of time (for example, one day).
- a predefined period of time for example, one day.
- the temporary setting button when the temporary setting button is pressed, setting information is transmitted to the client apparatus 20 in the same manner as step S 13 described above.
- the setting information includes time period information indicating the above-described predefined period of time.
- the client apparatus 20 sets a transmission destination of mage data in the same manner as step S 14 described above.
- the CPU 21 stores this spooler information in the storage unit 24 as original spooler information.
- the CPU 21 changes the spooler information stored in the storage unit 24 to original spooler information. Thereby, the spooler information is changed only for the predefined period of time.
- the setting information is transmitted to the authentication server apparatus 10 in the same manner as step S 36 described above.
- this setting information includes time period information indicating the above-described predefined period of time.
- the authentication server apparatus 10 sets a transmission destination of image data in the same manner as step S 37 described above.
- the CPU 11 stores this spooler information in the storage unit 14 as original spooler information.
- the CPU 11 changes the spooler information stored so as to be correlated with the user ID included in the setting information in the user information 43 to original spooler information. Thereby, the spooler information is changed only for the predefined period of time.
- the setting operation according to the above-described first exemplary embodiment or second exemplary embodiment may be performed not only at the first use but also when spooler information is desired to be changed.
- the image forming apparatus 30 normally used is changed due to exchanging seats, changing residence, or job transfer.
- the user may operate the image forming apparatus 30 which is newly used so as to set a transmission destination of image data.
- the above-described user ID is an example of the user information for identifying a user.
- the user information is not limited to the user ID.
- the user information may be a card ID assigned to an IC card of the user, or may be a mail address assigned to the user.
- each person has the IC card, and thus a card ID assigned to the IC card may be used as the user information.
- the above-described user authentication may be performed without using the IC card.
- the user may input a user ID of the user by the use of the UI unit 34 of the image forming apparatus 30 .
- biological information such as fingerprints may be used.
- a device for reading the biological information is installed in the image forming apparatus 30 .
- a configuration of the image forming system 1 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 1 or 10 .
- the number of the image forming apparatuses 30 may be increased according to the number of users.
- the client apparatuses 20 corresponding to the number of users may be provided.
- the image forming unit 35 may be printer which forms an image by methods other than the electronic photography method.
- the image forming unit 35 may be a printer which forms a monochrome image or a color image.
- the UI unit 34 has a touch panel but may have a display device such as a liquid crystal display device instead of the touch panel.
- the program executed by the CPU 11 , the CPU 21 , or the CPU of the controller 31 may be provided in a state of being recorded on a recording medium such as a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a flexible disc, an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, or a memory, and may be installed in the authentication server apparatus 10 , the client apparatus 20 , or the image forming apparatus 30 .
- the program may be downloaded to the authentication server apparatus 10 , the client apparatus 20 , or the image forming apparatus 30 via a communication line such as the Internet.
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Abstract
Description
- This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-226741 filed Oct. 14, 2011.
- (i) Technical Field
- The present invention relates to an image forming system, an image forming apparatus, and a non-transitory computer readable medium.
- (ii) Related Art
- There are cases where plural image forming apparatuses are connected to a client apparatus. In this case, it is necessary for the client apparatus to set an image forming apparatus which is a transmission destination of image data.
- According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an image forming system including an image forming apparatus, a transmission apparatus, a reception section that is provided in the image forming apparatus and receives a designation of the transmission apparatus, a first transmission section that is provided in the image forming apparatus and transmits apparatus information indicating the own apparatus to a transmission apparatus designated in the reception section, a first storage unit that is provided in the transmission apparatus and stores the apparatus information transmitted from the first transmission section, a second transmission section that is provided in the transmission apparatus and transmits image data to an image forming apparatus indicated by the apparatus information stored in the first storage section, and an image forming unit that is provided in the image forming apparatus and forms an image corresponding to the image data transmitted from the second transmission section.
- Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:
-
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system according to a first exemplary embodiment; -
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the client apparatus; -
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus; -
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the authentication information; -
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the spooler list; -
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming system according to the first exemplary embodiment; -
FIG. 7 is a sequence chart illustrating a setting operation according to the first exemplary embodiment; -
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting screen according to the first exemplary embodiment; -
FIG. 9 is a sequence chart illustrating a printing operation according to the first exemplary embodiment; -
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming system according to a second exemplary embodiment; -
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the authentication server apparatus; -
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user information; -
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming system according to the second exemplary embodiment; -
FIG. 14 is a sequence chart illustrating a setting operation of the second exemplary embodiment; -
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the setting screen according to the second exemplary embodiment; -
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating user information to which spooler information is added; -
FIG. 17 is a sequence chart illustrating a printing operation according to the second exemplary embodiment; -
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a storage unit of the client apparatus according to a modified example 2; -
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of the user information according to the modified example 2; -
FIG. 20 is a sequence chart illustrating a changing operation of spooler information according to a modified example 3; and -
FIG. 21 is a sequence chart illustrating a changing operation of the spooler information according to the modified example 3. - 1. Configuration of Image Forming System
-
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration ofimage forming system 1 according to a first exemplary embodiment. Theimage forming system 1 includes aclient apparatus 20, andimage forming apparatuses client apparatus 20 and theimage forming apparatuses communication line 2. In addition, in the following explanation, when it is not necessary to differentiate theimage forming apparatuses image forming apparatus 30” or “image forming apparatuses 30”. -
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of theclient apparatus 20. Theclient apparatus 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, amemory 22, acommunication unit 23, astorage unit 24, anoperation unit 25, and adisplay 26. TheCPU 21 controls the respective units of theclient apparatus 20 by executing a program stored in thememory 22. Thecommunication unit 23 is a communication interface connected to thecommunication line 2. Theclient apparatus 20 communicates with theimage forming apparatus 30 using thecommunication unit 23. Thestorage unit 24 is a storage device such as a hard disk. Thestorage unit 24 stores aprinter driver 40. Theprinter driver 40 is a program which has a function of controlling theimage forming apparatuses 30. Theoperation unit 25 includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse. Theoperation unit 25 is used to operate theclient apparatus 20. Thedisplay 26 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device. -
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of theimage forming apparatus 30. Theimage forming apparatus 30 includes acontroller 31, acommunication unit 32, astorage unit 33, a UI (User Interface)unit 34, animage forming unit 35, and acard reading unit 36. Thecontroller 31 controls the respective units of theimage forming apparatus 30. Thecontroller 31 includes, for example, a CPU and a memory. The CPU realizes functions of thecontroller 31 by executing a program stored in the memory. Thecommunication unit 32 is a communication interface connected to thecommunication line 2. Theimage forming apparatus 30 communicates with theclient apparatus 20 or the otherimage forming apparatuses 30 using thecommunication unit 32. Thestorage unit 33 is a storage device such as a hard disk or a flash memory. Thestorage unit 33stores authentication information 41 and aspooler list 42. Thestorage unit 33 stores image data transmitted from theclient apparatus 20. - The
UI unit 34 includes, for example, a touch screen and an operation button. TheUI unit 34 is used to operate theimage forming apparatus 30. Theimage forming unit 35 is, for example, an electronic photography type printer. Theimage forming unit 35 forms (prints) an image corresponding to image data on a medium such as paper. Thecard reading unit 36 reads information stored on an IC (Integrated Circuit) card, in a noncontact manner. The IC card is given to a user in advance in order to perform user authentication. In addition, in the following description, when it is necessary to differentiate the configurations of theimage forming apparatuses -
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of theauthentication information 41. Theauthentication information 41 describes a set of a user ID and a password. The user ID is information for identifying a user. The password is information for confirming that a user is the person himself/herself. The password is set by a user. Theauthentication information 41 shown inFIG. 4 describes a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234”. -
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of thespooler list 42 stored in the storage unit 33A of theimage forming apparatus 30A. Thespooler list 42 describes spooler information indicating otherimage forming apparatuses 30 which are storage destinations of image data. As the spooler information, for example, an IP (Internet Protocol) address or an identification number assigned to theimage forming apparatus 30 is used. Thespooler list 42 shown inFIG. 5 describes the spooler information “spooler B” and the spooler information “spooler C”. The spooler information “spooler B” and “spooler C” respectively indicate theimage forming apparatuses -
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of theimage forming system 1. In the first exemplary embodiment, theclient apparatus 20 functions as a transmission apparatus. Areception section 301 is realized by theUI unit 34. Afirst transmission section 302 is realized by, for example, the CPU executing a program in thecontroller 31. Asecond transmission section 201 is realized by theCPU 21 executing a program. Thereception section 301 receives a designation of theclient apparatus 20. Thefirst transmission section 302 transmits spooler information indicating the own apparatus to theclient apparatus 20 designated in thereception section 301. The spooler information is an example of the apparatus information indicating theimage forming apparatus 30. Thestorage unit 24 stores the spooler information transmitted from thefirst transmission section 302. That is to say, in the first exemplary embodiment, thestorage unit 24 functions as a first storage unit. Thesecond transmission section 201 transmits image data to theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the spooler information stored in thestorage unit 24. Theimage forming unit 35 forms an image corresponding to the image data transmitted from thesecond transmission section 201. - 2. Operation of Image Forming System
- (1) Setting Operation
-
FIG. 7 is a sequence chart illustrating a setting operation according to the first exemplary embodiment. A user selects a desiredimage forming apparatus 30 from theimage forming apparatuses image forming apparatus 30 in order to use the selectedimage forming apparatus 30. For example, the user moves to theimage forming apparatus 30 which is near to the user's seat and is the most convenient for use. Here, it is assumed that the user moves to theimage forming apparatus 30A. - An authentication screen is displayed on the
UI unit 34 of theimage forming apparatus 30, and if authentication is not performed, an operation of theimage forming apparatus 30 is not accepted. The user inputs a user ID by touching the IC card of the user on the card reading unit 36A. The IC card stores the user ID “user 001”. In addition, the user inputs the password using the UI unit 34A. Here, it is assumed that the password “1234” is input by the user. - When the user ID and the password are input, the
image forming apparatus 30A performs user authentication using the input user ID and password (step S11). Specifically, the card reading unit 36A reads the user ID “user 001” from the IC card. The UI unit 34A receives an input of the password “1234”. The controller 31A determines whether or not a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” is included in theauthentication information 41 which is stored in the storage unit 33A. When a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” is not included in theauthentication information 41, the controller 31A displays a message indicating the user authentication fails on the UI unit 34A, and finishes this process. In this case, the user cannot use theimage forming apparatus 30A. However, a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” is included in theauthentication information 41 shown inFIG. 4 . As such, when a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” is included in theauthentication information 41, the controller 31A displays a message indicating the user authentication is successful on the UI unit 34A. - If the user authentication is successful, the user operates the
image forming apparatus 30A, and sets theimage forming apparatus 30A as a transmission destination of image data from theclient apparatus 20. Specifically, the user performs an operation for instructing asetting screen 51 to be displayed using the UI unit 34A. When this operation is performed, the controller 31A displays thesetting screen 51 on the UI unit 34A (step S12).FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of thesetting screen 51. Thesetting screen 51 is provided with atext box 52 and asetting button 53. Thetext box 52 receives an input of the communication address of theclient apparatus 20. As the communication address, for example, an IP address is used. Thesetting button 53 receives an instruction for setting theimage forming apparatus 30A as a transmission destination of the image data. The user performs an operation for designating theclient apparatus 20 using the UI unit 34A. Specifically, the user inputs the communication address of theclient apparatus 20 to thetext box 52 using the UT unit 34A. Next, the user presses thesetting button 53 using the UI unit 34A. - When the
setting button 53 is pressed, theimage forming apparatus 30A transmits setting information including the spooler information of the own apparatus to the client apparatus 20 (step S13). Specifically, the controller 31A creates setting information including the spooler information assigned to theimage forming apparatus 30A in advance. Here, it is assumed that the spooler information “spooler A” is assigned to theimage forming apparatus 30A. The controller 31A controls the communication unit 32A so as to transmit the created setting information to the communication address input in thetext box 52. The setting information is transmitted using a protocol such as, for example, an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or an SMB (Server Message Block). Thereby, the spooler information “spooler A” indicating theimage forming apparatus 30A is transmitted to theclient apparatus 20 designated by the user. - When receiving the setting information from the
image forming apparatus 30A, theclient apparatus 20 sets a transmission destination of image data on the basis of the received setting information (step S14). Specifically, theCPU 21 extracts the spooler information “spooler A” from the received setting information, and stores the extracted spooler information in thestorage unit 24. Thereby, theimage forming apparatus 30A is set as a transmission destination of image data. - (2) Printing Operation
-
FIG. 9 is a sequence chart illustrating a printing operation according to the first exemplary embodiment. The user operates theclient apparatus 20 so as to perform a printing instruction. Specifically, the user designates image data and instructs printing using theoperation unit 25. Here, it is assumed that the user designates image data D1 which is instructed to be printed. When the printing instruction is performed, theclient apparatus 20 transmits the image data D1 to theimage forming apparatus 30 set as the transmission destination of image data by the printer driver 40 (step S21). Specifically, the user ID “user 001” is set in theprinter driver 40 in advance. First, theCPU 21 adds attribute information including the user ID to the image data D1. Next, theCPU 21 controls thecommunication unit 23 so as to transmit the image data D1 to theimage forming apparatus 30A indicated by the spooler information “spooler A” stored in thestorage unit 24. - When receiving the image data D1 from the
client apparatus 20, theimage forming apparatus 30A stores the image data D1 in the storage unit 33A. Thereby, the image data D1 is stored in theimage forming apparatus 30A (step S22). After performing the printing instruction, the user moves to theimage forming apparatus 30A. The user inputs the user ID “user 001” by touching the IC card of the user on the card reading unit 36A. In addition, the user inputs the password using the UI unit 34A. Theimage forming apparatus 30A performs user authentication in the same manner as step S11 described above (step S23). - If the user authentication is successful, the
image forming apparatus 30A acquires image data corresponding to the user ID “user 001” and performs a printing process based on the acquired image data (step 324). Specifically, if the image data to which the attribute information including the user ID “user 001” is added is stored in the storage unit 33A, the controller 31A reads the image data from the storage unit 33A. - In addition, the controller 31A specifies other
image forming apparatuses 30 which are storage destinations of the image data on the basis of thespooler list 42 stored in the storage unit 33A. Thespooler list 42 shown inFIG. 5 describes the spooler information “spooler B” and the spooler information “spooler C”. In this case, the controller 31A specifies theimage forming apparatus 30B indicated by the spooler information “spooler B” and theimage forming apparatus 30C indicated by the spooler information “spooler C”. The controller 31A controls the communication unit 32A so as to request the image data to which the attribute information including the user ID “user 001” is added at the specifiedimage forming apparatuses 30B and 300. When the image data requested by theimage forming apparatus 30A is stored in the storage units 33B and 330, theimage forming apparatuses 30B and 300 read the image data from the storage units 33B and 33C and transmit the image data to theimage forming apparatus 30A. When the image data is transmitted from theimage forming apparatuses image forming apparatus 30A receives the image data. - As described above, the storage unit 33A stores the image data D1. The attribute information including the user ID “user 001” is added to the image data D1. In this case, the controller 31A reads the image data D1 from the storage unit 33A. The controller 31A supplies the image data D1 to the image forming unit 35A so as to form an image corresponding to the image data D1. The image forming unit 35A forms the image corresponding to the image data D1 on a medium under the control of the controller 31A.
- According to the first exemplary embodiment, even if the user does not grasp spooler information indicating the
image forming apparatus 30, theimage forming apparatus 30 is set as a transmission destination of image data. In addition, in the first exemplary embodiment, theimage forming apparatus 30 set as a transmission destination of image data is selected by the user. Therefore, if the user sets theimage forming apparatus 30 which is normally used as a transmission destination of image data, the image data is transmitted to theimage forming apparatus 30 which is normally used. In this case, when a printing process is performed, image data is not acquired from the otherimage forming apparatuses 30. Thus, a frequency where image data is transmitted between theimage forming apparatuses 30 is lower than a case where theimage forming apparatus 30 which is not normally used by the user is set as a transmission destination of image data. - Further, in the first exemplary embodiment, for example, the
printer driver 40 itself is not transmitted from theimage forming apparatus 30 to theclient apparatus 20, but only the spooler information is transmitted from theimage forming apparatus 30 to theclient apparatus 20. Therefore, according to the first exemplary embodiment, a process of setting a transmission destination of image data is easily performed. In addition, theimage forming system 1 has a structure where image data is stored in any one of theimage forming apparatuses image forming apparatus 30. In theimage forming system 1, when there areplural client apparatuses 20, for example, ifdifferent printer drivers 40 are delivered to and installed in the client apparatuses 20 from theimage forming apparatuses 30, there is concern that inconvenience occurs, for example, in a circumstance where aparticular printer driver 40 which limits various settings is used in theimage forming system 1, theprinter drivers 40 installed in the client apparatuses 20 are appropriately updated when limitations are updated. In addition, a user is required to search the client apparatuses 20 for theprinter driver 40. An administrator of theimage forming system 1 stores acommon printer driver 40, for example, in a single server apparatus, and notifies the user of a storage location of the server apparatus, which is convenient for both the user and the administrator. For this reason, in the first exemplary embodiment, theprinter driver 40 itself is not transmitted but the spooler information is transmitted. - 1. Configuration of Image Forming System
-
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating animage forming system 1 according to a second exemplary embodiment. Theimage forming system 1 includes anauthentication server apparatus 10, aclient apparatus 20, andimage forming apparatuses authentication server apparatus 10, theclient apparatus 20, and theimage forming apparatuses communication line 2. In addition, in the following, when it is not necessary to differentiate theimage forming apparatuses image forming apparatus 30/image forming apparatuses 30”. Configurations of theclient apparatus 20 and theimage forming apparatus 30 according to the second exemplary embodiment are the same as the configurations described in the first exemplary embodiment, and thus description thereof will be omitted. -
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of theauthentication server apparatus 10. Theauthentication server apparatus 10 includes a CPU 11, amemory 12, acommunication unit 13, astorage unit 14, anoperation unit 15, and adisplay 16. The CPU 11 controls the respective units of theauthentication server apparatus 10 by executing a program stored in thememory 12. Thecommunication unit 13 is a communication interface connected to thecommunication line 2. Theauthentication server apparatus 10 communicates with theclient apparatus 20 or theimage forming apparatuses 30 using thecommunication unit 13. Thestorage unit 14 is a storage device such as a hard disk. Thestorage unit 14stores user information 43. Theoperation unit 15 includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse. Theoperation unit 15 is used to operate theauthentication server apparatus 10. Thedisplay 16 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device. -
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of theuser information 43. Theuser information 43 describes a set of a user ID and a password in the same manner as the above-describedauthentication information 41. In addition, theuser information 43 describes spooler information so as to be correlated with each user ID. In addition, the spooler information is not described when theuser information 43 is created, and is added when a setting operation is performed. -
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of theimage forming system 1 according to the second exemplary embodiment. In the second exemplary embodiment, theclient apparatus 20 functions as a transmission apparatus, and theauthentication server apparatus 10 functions as a management apparatus. Areception section 303 is realized by thecard reading unit 36. Afirst transmission section 304 is realized by, for example, the CPU executing a program in thecontroller 31. Anacquisition section 202 and asecond transmission section 203 are realized by theCPU 21 executing a program. - The
reception section 303 receives an input of the user ID. The user ID is an example of user information for identifying a user. Thefirst transmission section 304 transmits the input user ID and spooler information indicating the own apparatus to theauthentication server apparatus 10. The spooler information is an example of the apparatus information indicating theimage forming apparatus 30. Thestorage unit 14 correlates the user ID and the spooler information transmitted from thefirst transmission section 304 with each other so as to be stored in theuser information 43. Theacquisition section 202 acquires spooler information which is correlated with a preset user ID and is stored in thestorage unit 14. Thesecond transmission section 203 transmits image data to theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the spooler information acquired by theacquisition section 202. Theimage forming unit 35 forms an image corresponding to the image data transmitted from thesecond transmission section 203. - 2. Operation of Image Forming System
- (1) Setting Operation
-
FIG. 14 is a sequence chart illustrating a setting operation according to the second exemplary embodiment. A user selects a desiredimage forming apparatus 30 from theimage forming apparatuses image forming apparatus 30 in order to use the selectedimage forming apparatus 30. For example, the user moves to theimage forming apparatus 30 which is near to the user's seat and is the most convenient for use. Here, it is assumed that the user moves to theimage forming apparatus 30A. - An authentication screen is displayed on the
UI unit 34 of theimage forming apparatus 30, and if authentication is not performed, an operation of theimage forming apparatus 30 is not accepted. The user inputs a user ID by touching the IC card of the user on the card reading unit 36A. The IC card stores the user ID “user 001”. In addition, the user inputs the password using the UI unit 34A. Here, it is assumed that the password “1234” is input by the user. - When the user ID and the password are input, the
image forming apparatus 30A requests theauthentication server apparatus 10 to perform user authentication on the basis of the input user ID and password (step S31). Specifically, the controller 31A controls the communication unit 32A so as to transmit the input user ID “user 001” and password “1234” to theauthentication server apparatus 10. - The
authentication server apparatus 10 performs the user authentication requested by theimage forming apparatus 30A (step S32), and makes a response regarding whether or not the user authentication is successful (step S33). Specifically, the CPU 11 determines whether or not a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” received from theimage forming apparatus 30A is included in theuser information 43 which is stored in thestorage unit 14. When a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” is not included in theuser information 43, the CPU 11 controls thecommunication unit 13 so as to transmit response information indicating that the user authentication fails to theimage forming apparatus 30A. On the other hand, a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” is included in theuser information 43 shown inFIG. 12 . As such, if a set of the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” is included in theuser information 43, the CPU 11 controls thecommunication unit 13 so as to transmit response information indicating that the user authentication is successful to theimage forming apparatus 30A. - The
image forming apparatus 30A notifies the user of the authentication result on the basis of the response from the authentication server apparatus 10 (step S34). Specifically, when there is a response indicating that the user authentication fails from theauthentication server apparatus 10, the controller 31A displays a message indicating the user authentication fails on the UI unit 34A, and finishes this process. In this case, the user cannot use theimage forming apparatus 30A. In contrast, when there is a response indicating that the user authentication is successful from theauthentication server apparatus 10, the controller 31A displays a message indicating the user authentication is successful on the UI unit 34R. - If the user authentication is successful, the user operates the
image forming apparatus 30A, and sets theimage forming apparatus 30A as a transmission destination of image data from theclient apparatus 20. Specifically, the user performs an operation for instructing asetting screen 55 to be displayed using the UI unit 34A. When this operation is performed, the controller 31A displays thesetting screen 55 on the UI unit 34A (step S35).FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of thesetting screen 55. Thesetting screen 55 is provided with asetting button 56. Thesetting button 56 receives an instruction for setting theimage forming apparatus 30A as a transmission destination of the image data. The user presses thesetting button 56 using the UI unit 34A. - When the
setting button 56 is pressed, theimage forming apparatus 30A transmits setting information including the input user ID and the spooler information of the own apparatus to the authentication server apparatus 10 (step S36). Specifically, the controller 31A creates setting information including the input user ID “user 001” which is input via the card reading unit 36A and the spooler information assigned to theimage forming apparatus 30A in advance. Here, it is assumed that the spooler information “spooler A” is assigned to theimage forming apparatus 30A. The controller 31A controls the communication unit 32A so as to transmit the created setting information to theauthentication server apparatus 10. The setting information is transmitted using a protocol such as, for example, an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or an SMB (Server Message Block). Thereby, the user ID input by the user and the spooler information “spooler A” indicating theimage forming apparatus 30A are transmitted to theauthentication server apparatus 10. - When receiving the setting information from the
image forming apparatus 30A, theauthentication server apparatus 10 sets a transmission destination of image data on the basis of the received setting information (step S37).FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating theuser information 43 to which the spooler information is added through this setting. Specifically, the CPU 11 extracts the spooler information “spooler A” from the received setting information, and adds the extracted spooler information to theuser information 43 stored in thestorage unit 14. In addition, the CPU 11 correlates the user ID “user 001” included in the setting information with the added spooler information “spooler A” in theuser information 43. Thereby, the user ID “user 001” and the spooler information “spooler A” are correlated with each other and are stored. In addition, theimage forming apparatus 30A is set as a transmission destination of image data corresponding to the user ID “user 001”. - (2) Printing Operation
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FIG. 17 is a sequence chart illustrating a printing operation according to the second exemplary embodiment. The user inputs the user ID and the password using theoperation unit 25 of theclient apparatus 20. Here, it is assumed that the user ID “user 001” and the password “1234” are input by the user. When the user ID and the password are input, theclient apparatus 20 requests theauthentication server apparatus 10 to perform user authentication on the basis of the input user ID and password (step S41). Specifically, theCPU 21 controls thecommunication unit 23 so as to transmit the input user ID “user 001” and password “1234” to theauthentication server apparatus 10. - The
authentication server apparatus 10, in the same manner as steps S32 and S33 described above, performs the user authentication requested by the client apparatus 20 (step S42), and makes a response regarding whether or not the user authentication is successful (step S43). Theclient apparatus 20 notifies the user of the authentication result on the basis of the response from the authentication server apparatus 10 (step S44). Specifically, when there is a response indicating that the user authentication fails from theauthentication server apparatus 10, theCPU 21 displays a message indicating the user authentication fails on thedisplay 26. In this case, the user cannot perform a printing instruction. In contrast, when there is a response indicating that the user authentication is successful from theauthentication server apparatus 10, theCPU 21 displays a message indicating the user authentication is successful on thedisplay 26. - If the user authentication is successful, the
client apparatus 20 acquires the spooler information corresponding to the user ID set in theprinter driver 40 in advance from theauthentication server apparatus 10. Here, it is assumed that the user ID “user 001” is set in theprinter driver 40 in advance. Specifically, theCPU 21 controls thecommunication unit 23 so as to request the spooler information corresponding to the user ID “user 001” at the authentication server apparatus 10 (step S45). Theauthentication server apparatus 10 reads the requested spooler information from thestorage unit 14 and transmits the spooler information to the client apparatus 20 (step S46). Specifically, the CPU 11 extracts the spooler information “spooler A” correlated with the user ID “user 001” from theuser information 43 shown inFIG. 16 . The CPU 11 controls thecommunication unit 13 so as to transmit the extracted spooler information to theclient apparatus 20. Theclient apparatus 20 receives the spooler information “spooler A” from theauthentication server apparatus 10. - The user operates the
client apparatus 20 so as to perform a printing instruction. Specifically, the user designates image data and instructs printing using theoperation unit 25. Here, it is assumed that the user designates image data D1 which is instructed to be printed. When the printing instruction is performed, theclient apparatus 20 transmits the image data D1 to theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the spooler information acquired from the authentication server apparatus (step S47). Specifically, theCPU 21 controls thecommunication unit 23 so as to transmit the image data D1 to theimage forming apparatus 30A indicated by the received spooler information “spooler A”. When receiving the image data D1 from theclient apparatus 20, theimage forming apparatus 30A stores the image data D1 in the storage unit 33A. Thereby, the image data D1 is stored in theimage forming apparatus 30A (step S48). - After performing the printing instruction, the user moves to the
image forming apparatus 30A. The user inputs the user ID “user 001” by touching the IC card of the user on the card reading unit 36A. In addition, the user inputs the password using the UI unit 34A. When the user ID and the password are input, theimage forming apparatus 30A requests theauthentication server apparatus 10 to perform user authentication on the basis of the user ID and the password in the same manner as step S31 described above (step S49). Theauthentication server apparatus 10, in the same manner as steps S32 and S33 described above, performs the user authentication requested by the image forming apparatus 30 (step S50), and makes a response regarding whether or not the user authentication is successful (step S51). In the same manner as step S34 described above, theimage forming apparatus 30A notifies the user of the authentication result on the basis of the response from the authentication server apparatus 10 (step S52). If the user authentication is successful, theimage forming apparatus 30A, in the same manner as step S24 described above, acquires image data corresponding to the user ID “user 001” and performs a printing process based on the acquired image data (step S53). - In the configuration according to the second exemplary embodiment as well, in the same manner as the first exemplary embodiment, even if a user does not understand spooler information indicating the
image forming apparatus 30, theimage forming apparatus 30 is set as a transmission destination of image data. Further, in the configuration according to the second exemplary embodiment as well, in the same manner as the first exemplary embodiment, a frequency where image data is transmitted between theimage forming apparatuses 30 is lower than a case where theimage forming apparatus 30 which is not normally used by the user is set as a transmission destination of image data. In addition, in the configuration according to the second exemplary embodiment as well, in the same manner as the first exemplary embodiment, a process of setting a transmission destination of image data is easily performed. - The invention is not limited to the above-described first exemplary embodiment or second exemplary embodiment, and may be modified as follows. In addition, the following modified examples may be combined with each other.
- In the above-described first exemplary embodiment, there are cases where a printing instruction is performed before a transmission destination of image data is set in step S14. In this case, since spooler information is not stored in the
storage unit 24, theclient apparatus 20 cannot transmit image data. Therefore, in this case, theclient apparatus 20 may preserve image data D1 designated by the user, and may transmit the image data D1 after a transmission destination of the image data is set. - Specifically, when a printing instruction is performed, the
CPU 21 determines whether or not spooler information is stored in thestorage unit 24. If the spooler information is not stored in thestorage unit 24, theCPU 21 stores the image data D1 designated by the user in thestorage unit 24. Thereafter, through the process in step S14, the spooler information is stored in thestorage unit 24. When the spooler information is stored in thestorage unit 24, theCPU 21 reads the image data D1 from thestorage unit 24, and transmits the image data D1 to theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the spooler information, in the same manner as step S21 described above. - According to the modified example 1, even if the spooler information is not stored in the
storage unit 24 when the printing instruction is performed, that is, when image data is transmitted, the image data is transmitted when the spooler information is stored. At this time, it is not necessary for the user to operate theclient apparatus 20 again in order to perform a printing instruction after setting a transmission destination of image data by operating theimage forming apparatus 30. In addition, the operation according to the modified example 1 may be applied to, for example, a case where image data cannot be transmitted to theclient apparatus 20 since a failure occurs in theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by spooler information stored in thestorage unit 24, or thecommunication line 2 between theclient apparatus 20 and theimage forming apparatus 30. - In the above-described first exemplary embodiment, a transmission destination of image data may be set in plural. In this case, the user operates the plural
image forming apparatuses 30 and sets a primary spooler and a secondary spooler. The primary spooler refers to a storage destination of image data having the highest priority. The secondary spooler refers to a storage destination of image data having the second highest priority. Specifically, the user performs an operation for instructing any one of the setting a setting screen 51A used to set a primary spooler and a setting screen 51B used to set a secondary spooler to be displayed, by the use of theUI unit 34 of theimage forming apparatus 30. - When the operation for instructing the setting screen 51A to be displayed is performed, the
controller 31 displays the setting screen 51A on theUI unit 34. The setting screen 51A is provided with a setting button 53A which receives an instruction for setting the own apparatus as a primary spooler, in addition to thetext box 52 as shown inFIG. 8 . In other words, the setting button 53A receives a designation of the priority “1” for the own apparatus. The user inputs a communication address of theclient apparatus 20 in thetext box 52 and presses the setting button 53A using theUI unit 34. When the setting button 53A is pressed, thecontroller 31 adds the priority “1” to the spooler information indicating the own apparatus, and performs transmission of the setting information in step S13. - On the other hand, when the operation for instructing the setting screen 51B to be displayed is performed, the
controller 31 displays the setting screen 51B on theUI unit 34. The setting screen 51B is provided with a setting button 53B which receives an instruction for setting the own apparatus as a secondary spooler, in addition to thetext box 52 as shown inFIG. 8 . In other words, the setting button 53B receives a designation of the priority “2” for the own apparatus. The user inputs a communication address of theclient apparatus 20 in thetext box 52 and presses the setting button 53B using theUI unit 34. When the setting button 53B is pressed, thecontroller 31 adds the priority “2” to the spooler information indicating the own apparatus, and performs transmission of the setting information in step S13. In addition, in the following description, the spooler information to which the priority “1” is added is referred to as “primary spooler information”, and the spooler information to which the priority “2” is added is referred to as “secondary spooler information”. - When the primary spooler and the secondary spooler are set by the user, the primary spooler information and the secondary spooler information are stored in the
storage unit 24 of theclient apparatus 20 as shown inFIG. 18 . Here, it is assumed that the user operates theimage forming apparatus 30A so as to set a primary spooler, and then operates theimage forming apparatus 30C so as to set a secondary spooler. In this case, in thestorage unit 24, the spooler information “spooler A” indicating theimage forming apparatus 30A is stored as the primary spooler information, and the spooler information “spooler C” indicating theimage forming apparatus 30C is stored as the secondary spooler information. - The
client apparatus 20 transmits image data to theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the primary spooler information stored in thestorage unit 24 or theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the secondary spooler information. At this time, theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the primary spooler information is used prior to theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the secondary spooler information. Specifically, theCPU 21 first transmits image data to theimage forming apparatus 30A indicated by the primary spooler information “spooler A”. However, when a failure occurs in theimage forming apparatus 30A, or a failure occurs in thecommunication line 2 between theclient apparatus 20 and theimage forming apparatus 30A, the image data cannot be transmitted to theimage forming apparatus 30A. In a circumstance where theimage forming apparatus 30A cannot be used as such, theCPU 21 controls thecommunication unit 23 so as to transmit the image data to theimage forming apparatus 30C indicated by the secondary spooler information “spooler C”. Thereby, even if theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the primary spooler information cannot be used, the image data is stored in theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the secondary spooler information. - In other words, the
client apparatus 20 transmits image data to theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by spooler information which is available and has the highest priority added among theimage forming apparatuses 30 indicated by the spooler information stored in thestorage unit 24. The term “available” refers to capable of storing image data in theimage forming apparatus 30. Whether or not theimage forming apparatus 30 is available is determined depending on, for example, whether or not an echo response is returned by animage forming apparatus 30 after an echo request is transmitted to theimage forming apparatus 30. When theimage forming apparatus 30 and thecommunication line 2 are normally operated, an echo response is returned by theimage forming apparatus 30. On the other hand, when a failure occurs in theimage forming apparatus 30, or a failure occurs in thecommunication line 2 between theclient apparatus 20 and, theimage forming apparatus 30, an echo response is not returned by theimage forming apparatus 30. If the echo response is not returned within a designated period of time, theclient apparatus 20 determines that theimage forming apparatus 30 is in unavailable circumstances. - In addition, in the above-described second exemplary embodiment as well, a transmission destination of image data may be set in plural. In this case,
user information 43A is stored in thestorage unit 14 of theauthentication server apparatus 10.FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of theuser information 43A according to the modified example 2. In addition, as described above, the user operates the pluralimage forming apparatuses 30 so as to set a primary spooler and a secondary spooler. When the primary spooler and the secondary spooler are set by the user, the primary spooler information and the secondary spooler information are added to theuser information 43A. In this case, theclient apparatus 20 acquires the primary spooler information and secondary spooler information from theauthentication server apparatus 10 in steps S45 and S46 described above. In addition, theclient apparatus 20, as described above, transmits image data to theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by spooler information which is available and has the highest priority added among theimage forming apparatuses 30 indicated by the acquired spooler information. Thereby, even if theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the primary spooler information cannot be used, the image data is stored in theimage forming apparatus 30 indicated by the secondary spooler information. - In the above-described first exemplary embodiment, there are cases where spooler information for the
image forming apparatus 30 may be changed. In this case, theimage forming apparatus 30 may notify theclient apparatus 20 of the changed spooler information.FIG. 20 is a sequence chart illustrating a changing operation of spooler information according to the modified example 3. Theimage forming apparatus 30 records the previous communication address to which changed information is transmitted in step S13 described above (step S61). Specifically, thecontroller 31 stores the communication address of theclient apparatus 20 input in thetext box 52 of thesetting screen 51 in thestorage unit 33. In other words, in the modified example 3, the storage unit functions as a second storage unit. When spooler information for the own apparatus is changed, theimage forming apparatus 30 sends a notification of the change in the spooler information to all the recorded communication addresses (step S62). Specifically, thecontroller 31 controls thecommunication unit 32 so as to transmit spooler information before being changed and spooler information after being changed to all the communication addresses stored in thestorage unit 33. In other words, in the modified example 3, thecontroller 31 functions as a third transmission unit. - The
client apparatus 20 changes spooler information stored in thestorage unit 24 in response to the notification from the image forming apparatus 30 (step S63). Specifically, when the spooler information before being changed and the spooler information after being changed are received from theimage forming apparatus 30, theCPU 21 determines whether or not the received spooler information before being changed is stored in thestorage unit 24. If the spooler information before being changed is stored in thestorage unit 24, theCPU 21 rewrites the spooler information before being changed, stored in thestorage unit 24, to the received spooler information after being changed. In other words, in the modified example 3, theCPU 21 functions as a changing unit. Thereby, the spooler information stored in theclient apparatus 20 is changed according to the change in the spooler information of theimage forming apparatus 30. - In addition, in the above-described second exemplary embodiment as well, there are cases where spooler information of the
image forming apparatus 30 may be changed. In this case, theimage forming apparatus 30 may notify theauthentication server apparatus 10 of the changed spooler information. FIG. 21 is a sequence chart illustrating a changing operation of spooler information according to the modified example 3. When spooler information of the own apparatus is changed, theimage forming apparatus 30 notifies theauthentication server apparatus 10 of the changed spooler information (step S71). Specifically, thecontroller 31 controls thecommunication unit 32 so as to transmit spooler information before being changed and spooler information after being changed to theauthentication server apparatus 10. In other words, in the modified example 3, thecontroller 31 functions as a third transmission unit. - The
authentication server apparatus 10changes user information 43 stored in thestorage unit 14 in response to the notification from the image forming apparatus 30 (step S72). Specifically, when the spooler information before being changed and the spooler information after being changed are received from theimage forming apparatus 30, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the received spooler information before being changed is included in theuser information 43. If the spooler information before being changed is included in theuser information 43, the CPU 11 rewrites the spooler information before being changed, included in theuser information 43, to the received spooler information after being changed. In other words, in the modified example 3, the CPU functions as a changing unit. Thereby, the spooler information stored in theauthentication server apparatus 10 is changed according to the change in the spooler information of theimage forming apparatus 30. - In the first exemplary embodiment described above, spooler information may be stored in the
storage unit 24 through an operation of the user. In this case, the user inputs a mail address assigned to theclient apparatus 20 in thetext box 52 of thesetting screen 51. Theimage forming apparatus 30 has a mail function. Theimage forming apparatus 30 transmits the setting information to theclient apparatus 20 by electronic mail in step S13 described above. The user operates theclient apparatus 20 so as to store spooler information included in the setting information in thestorage unit 24 on the basis of the mail received from theimage forming apparatus 30. - In the second exemplary embodiment described above, the
image forming apparatus 30 may display thesetting screen 55 when the number of times to be used by the user reaches a threshold value. The number of times to be used includes the number of authentications or the number of image formations. For example, thecontroller 31 counts the number of authentications for performing user authentication using a user ID for each user ID input by the user. When user authentication is performed using the user ID “user 001” in theimage forming apparatus 30A, the controller 31A increases the number of authentications corresponding to the user ID “user 001” by 1. However, thecontroller 31 does not count the number of authentications with regard to a user ID correlated with spooler information indicating the own apparatus in theuser information 43 stored in theauthentication server apparatus 10. Thecontroller 31 stores the counted number of authentications in thestorage unit 33. When the number of authentications stored in thestorage unit 33 reaches a threshold value (for example, three) by the user authentication in step S32 described above, thecontroller 31 displays thesetting screen 55 on theUI unit 34 even if the user does not perform an operation for instructing thesetting screen 55 to be displayed. - In the above-described second exemplary embodiment, the
authentication server apparatus 10 may collectively perform processes for setting a transmission destination of image data in step S37 at a predefined timing (for example, once every night). In addition, when plural pieces of setting information including the same user ID are received from theimage forming apparatus 30 up to a predefined timing, theauthentication server apparatus 10 performs the process in step S37 on the basis of the finally received setting information. - In the above-described first exemplary embodiment or second exemplary embodiment, the temporary setting button may be displayed on the
UI unit 34 of theimage forming apparatus 30. The temporary setting button receives an instruction for setting the own apparatus as a storage destination of image data only for a predefined period of time (for example, one day). In the above-described first exemplary embodiment, when the temporary setting button is pressed, setting information is transmitted to theclient apparatus 20 in the same manner as step S13 described above. However, the setting information includes time period information indicating the above-described predefined period of time. Theclient apparatus 20 sets a transmission destination of mage data in the same manner as step S14 described above. However, when another spooler information is set in thestorage unit 24 in advance, theCPU 21 stores this spooler information in thestorage unit 24 as original spooler information. When the time period information included in the setting information has elapsed, theCPU 21 changes the spooler information stored in thestorage unit 24 to original spooler information. Thereby, the spooler information is changed only for the predefined period of time. - In addition, in the above-described second exemplary embodiment, when the temporary setting button is pressed, the setting information is transmitted to the
authentication server apparatus 10 in the same manner as step S36 described above. Here, this setting information includes time period information indicating the above-described predefined period of time. Theauthentication server apparatus 10 sets a transmission destination of image data in the same manner as step S37 described above. However, when spooler information is stored so as to be correlated with a user ID included in the setting information in advance in theuser information 43, the CPU 11 stores this spooler information in thestorage unit 14 as original spooler information. When the period of time indicated by the time period information included in the setting information has elapsed, the CPU 11 changes the spooler information stored so as to be correlated with the user ID included in the setting information in theuser information 43 to original spooler information. Thereby, the spooler information is changed only for the predefined period of time. - The setting operation according to the above-described first exemplary embodiment or second exemplary embodiment may be performed not only at the first use but also when spooler information is desired to be changed. For example, there are cases where the
image forming apparatus 30 normally used is changed due to exchanging seats, changing residence, or job transfer. In this case, the user may operate theimage forming apparatus 30 which is newly used so as to set a transmission destination of image data. - The above-described user ID is an example of the user information for identifying a user. The user information is not limited to the user ID. For example, the user information may be a card ID assigned to an IC card of the user, or may be a mail address assigned to the user. In addition, as described above, each person has the IC card, and thus a card ID assigned to the IC card may be used as the user information.
- The above-described user authentication may be performed without using the IC card. For example, the user may input a user ID of the user by the use of the
UI unit 34 of theimage forming apparatus 30. In addition, instead of the user ID, biological information such as fingerprints may be used. In this case, a device for reading the biological information is installed in theimage forming apparatus 30. - A configuration of the
image forming system 1 is not limited to the configuration shown inFIG. 1 or 10. For example, the number of theimage forming apparatuses 30 may be increased according to the number of users. In addition, the client apparatuses 20 corresponding to the number of users may be provided. - The
image forming unit 35 may be printer which forms an image by methods other than the electronic photography method. In addition, theimage forming unit 35 may be a printer which forms a monochrome image or a color image. TheUI unit 34 has a touch panel but may have a display device such as a liquid crystal display device instead of the touch panel. - The program executed by the CPU 11, the
CPU 21, or the CPU of thecontroller 31 may be provided in a state of being recorded on a recording medium such as a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a flexible disc, an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, or a memory, and may be installed in theauthentication server apparatus 10, theclient apparatus 20, or theimage forming apparatus 30. In addition, the program may be downloaded to theauthentication server apparatus 10, theclient apparatus 20, or theimage forming apparatus 30 via a communication line such as the Internet. - The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
Claims (16)
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JP2011226741A JP5857612B2 (en) | 2011-10-14 | 2011-10-14 | Image forming system, image forming apparatus, and program |
JP2011-226741 | 2011-10-14 |
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US20130094051A1 true US20130094051A1 (en) | 2013-04-18 |
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US13/440,688 Active 2032-08-17 US8736880B2 (en) | 2011-10-14 | 2012-04-05 | Image forming system, image forming apparatus, and non-transitory computer readable medium which is a transmission destination of image data |
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US (1) | US8736880B2 (en) |
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JP2013088900A (en) | 2013-05-13 |
US8736880B2 (en) | 2014-05-27 |
CN103049228A (en) | 2013-04-17 |
JP5857612B2 (en) | 2016-02-10 |
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